


A Tiger's Wrath

by TMNT_Raph_fan



Series: TMNT 2012: Alternate Earth Stories [4]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-23 16:51:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10723350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TMNT_Raph_fan/pseuds/TMNT_Raph_fan
Summary: An old friend of Casey's has resurfaced, just in time for Tigerclaw to get his revenge against the turtles.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

The turtles were out on their nightly patrol, rushing over the rooftops under the moonlight with Casey tagging along. The wind cascaded across their faces, blowing their masks and hair behind them as they continued to run. Their eyes were peeled and their ears were perked for any sign of trouble that would require them to intervene. The moonlight hanging above their heads was beginning to slowly disappear behind heavy cloud cover that looked darkened with the threat of rain. A single drop fell from the clouds hanging above, and gently plinked onto Mikey's cheek. He raised his head to stare at the sky and slid to a stop, just short of the edge of the building his brothers and Casey had already leapt away from. Donnie and Casey looked back at the youngest turtle as they were in mid-jump to the neighbouring building. They landed, but didn't keep running. "Mikey?" Donnie inquired, prompting Leo and Raph to stop as well. Mikey looked down at his brother with a smile beaming across his face.

"It's about to rain," he told them. "I felt a drop on my-." He was interrupted by a burst of thunder drowning out his voice and glanced up at the sky once more, just as the clouds released their downpour. Mikey closed his eyes and spread out his arms, enjoying the feeling of the rushing water. Casey raised his hockey-gloved hands over his head in a futile attempt to keep dry. The group of friends remained on the roof, letting the rain wash over them for a short moment.

"Does this mean we can end the patrol early?" Casey spoke up, gaining everyone's attention.

"Awe, can't handle a little rain?" Raph teased.

"You don't know how it feels to move around in soaked threads, since you guys never wear clothes," Casey barked at the hot-headed turtle. But before the two could get into it with each other, the sound of shattering glass made everyone alert. They rushed to the edge of the buildings, Mikey still on the previous roof, and looked to the streets below.

Leo shot out his hand, pointing at a shop that was missing its window pane, "there."

"Dudes!" Mikey cried out, bringing his hands to the side of his face like he was mimicking Home Alone. "That's Carl's Comics! It used to be owned by the twins' grandfather." He was referring to the Grimm twins, Kaitlyn and Kris, who had become close friends of theirs.

"Who owns it now?" Leo asked.

"No one," Donnie informed them. "It's been abandoned ever since his passing."

"So what!?" Casey exclaimed angrily. "It belonged to friends. So instead of standing around and yappin', we need to get down there and show whatever punks in there that they don't mess with our friends!" Without waiting for a response, the teen jumped off the edge and used windowsills to make it to ground level safely.

"Casey, no!" Raph called after him, seconds too late. They followed after their human friend as he was charging across the street and into the comic shop that was being robbed.

"Hey, creep!" Casey shouted as he got inside. "This shop belongs to a friend a'mine, so you better peel off before I teach you a solid lesson about disrespectin' my friends!"

"What makes you think you can teach me a lesson?" came a mellow, silky-toned voice from the shadowed area behind the cash register. Casey jerked his hockey stick towards the voice as a black, teenage boy, only about a year older than him, emerged from the dark and leaned his elbows casually against the counter. "I seem to remember being the one to protect you when we were kids." The burglar had a sly smile running across his tall face. The tattoo on his left arm and the signature Purple Dragon vest he wore made it clear that he was a member of the gang. He had on a gray tank top underneath the vest, and wore olive green cargo shorts with green converse shoes. A small, dark earring hung from his left lobe. Hazel eyes sat underneath his boxy eyebrows, accompanied by a wide nose and thick lips, and his hair stuck up in a twisted-fade style. Casey's eyes grew wide with shock and recognition, his stick lowering slightly from being distracted. The turtles dove into the store, rolling to their feet and raising their weapons. The burglar raised his eyebrows at the mutants' arrival, intrigued by their presence but familiar enough with the stories his gang spread about them to not be overly surprised.

"Danny?" Casey squeaked. The turtles paused to glance at him, curious at how he knew the intruder's name.

"They call me Drawback, now that I'm rolling with the Purple Dragons," the burglar replied, his sly smile peaking upwards in one corner of his mouth.

"You know this creep?" Raph whispered to his hockey-mask-wearing friend. Casey was too distracted to hear him, though, and instead lowered his weapon to roll closer to Drawback on his skates.

"The Purple Dragons!?" Casey blurted. "When did that happen!? Why did it happen?"

"Don't act so surprised, Case," Drawback told him gruffly, sly demeanour shifting places with anger and irritation. "We haven't seen each other in years. S'funny how something like that can downsize a friendship pretty quick."

"But the Purple Dragons!? The Danny I knew would never've considered joining such scum of the Earth!" Casey shot back, jabbing a finger to his former friend. The turtles glanced between themselves and the argument awkwardly, not sure how to intervene, or even if they should.

Drawback smacked Casey's hand away before retorting, "Drawback, man! And you don't know nothing about the Dragons. I joined to keep my Ma's shop from being a target, but I found out pretty quick how cool they were; how cool they live."

"There's nothing cool about stealing," Casey growled through gritted teeth. "Especially from my friends' Grandfather!" He reached across the counter, grabbing Drawback's shirt collar and yanking him over. Drawback landed on his shoulder, between Casey and the turtles.

"Hah!" he groaned, partially laughing. "You've gotten stronger."

"Don't move!" Raph barked at him, pointing his sai only inches from Drawback's face. He only smirked at the weapon and its holder.

"I can't let you outta here without a beating, Danny," Casey informed him, raising his stick in the air. "You think our friendship's over? So be it." He thrust his hockey stick towards the intruder, but Drawback was able to grab it before it slammed into his face. He yanked it forward so Casey would lose his balance on his skates. He fell forward as Drawback kicked up and back, sending Casey into Leo and Don, who were directly behind him. They fell backwards to the floor, startling Raph and Mikey. Drawback spun around on his back, sweeping his legs into Raph's. He spun around in a full circle, using the momentum to get back to his feet in one sweep. He continued to move without hesitation, throwing a small device at Mikey's face. It exploded, revealing itself to be a flash grenade and blinding Mikey temporarily.

"Catch you dorks later," Drawback taunted. "'Cause I know you won't be catchin' me!" He darted out of the store from the same broken store window that he had created when breaking in, and sped down the street, disappearing down a maze of alleys.

"Aaaahoooow!" Mikey whined, rubbing his eyes vigorously. The others groaned and got back to their feet slowly.

"Nice job, Jones," Raph growled. "If you hadn't distracted us, he wouldn't have taken us by surprise!"

Casey lifted his mask to the top of his head, "Why is it that whenever there's a screw up, you always point to me?"

"Because it usually is you," Raph spat back. "You or Mikey."

"Heeeey!" Mikey whimpered. Raph glared at his brother, raising his eyebrows in annoyance.

"Enough. All of you," Leo demanded. "We need to get out of here before anyone else shows up. C'mon." Their leader moved quickly, exiting the same way Drawback had. The others followed, and they quickly made their way back to the rooftops, and then back to their homes.


	2. The Cat Came Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

Karai stared out the large window of the Shredder's home headquarters as the rain hammered against it and the thunder roared above. She lifted a slightly torn photo of her mother, replaying Leo's words from their last encounter: "Karai, don't do this! Splinter, he's your father. Your true father. Hamato Yoshi."

"What is it that troubles you, Karai?" The shredder spoke in his usually empowering tone as he approached his daughter.

"I want to know the truth. The truth about my mother," Karai spoke before hesitating. "And Splinter." The Shredder was taken aback by this, narrowing his eyes at his daughter's new-found curiosity. He had been drilling the same story into her since she was old enough to understand it, using it to fuel her loyalty. Why would she only now question it?

"You know the truth, my daughter. Hamato Yoshi took your mother away," he answered, before being interrupted by the loud clatter of opening doors. The war lord turned to address the interruption and saw Tiger Claw panting in the open door frame, his paws still resting on the door's edges.

"I have returned," Tiger Claw stated, as though he was expected.

"Tiger Calw," Shredder spoke, surprise lacking from his voice. Karai was the only one who appeared confused by his presence.

"How?" She asked, flailing her hands about. "You were eaten by a giant, alien worm!" Tiger Claw walked slowly towards them as he told his tale of great escape.

"And you believed such a thing could contain my hate?" he asked Karai rhetorically. "My hate is what kept me going as I tore my way out of the belly of the Kraathatrogon. As I battled through the armies of the Kraang across alien worlds that would drive lesser men mad. And finally, back here, back to my enemies." He bowed on one knee, lowering his head before his Master Shredder. "I would have my revenge against Splinter, against his hideous reptiles, and against those who trapped me in that wretched worm's belly."

"I will Grant you this wish," Shredder spoke calmly. Karai's face twisted into angered surprise.

"What?" she blurted. "It's because of him that Splinter and the Turtles are still alive in the first place."

"Karai, you will go with Tiger Claw," Shredder's voice rumbled. "Destroy Splinter and the Turtles at any cost." Karai stared a moment, her eyes shifting around the room, before lowering her head in agreement to her father.

...

"You sure you can't come with us?" Raph asked again, trying not to sound too disappointed as he spoke on the phone to Kaitlyn, the night after dealing with Drawback. It was bad enough when Donnie got all sulky when April couldn't spend time with them, he wasn't about to let himself get the same way.

"Super sure, Raffle," she told him sadly, using a new nickname she had recently given him. "My family's making Krispie and I go with them on this mission." She was balancing her cell phone between her ear and shoulder while she was busy backing a bag. "I think they're worried about a threat one of our villains made, and don't want to leave us alone right now. Honestly, I think they're over reacting. We've been threatened before. And kidnapped. More than once." She paused to zip up her bag and take her phone in her hand. "But Uncle Ben insists we come along."

"You don't-, uh, when, when do you leave?" Raph asked, changing his sentence quickly to not ask something desperate sounding. He shifted awkwardly, thankful that she couldn't see him. He hated feeling this way when he talked to her, and yet he couldn't keep himself from dialing her number.

"Five minutes, maybe? I can hear them powering up the portal."

"Portal?" Raph repeated, and Donnie perked his head when he heard his hot headed brother utter the word; his eyes lighting up with scientific intrigue. Raph looked over to catch him staring, and quickly turned to face his shell towards his genius brother.

"Yeah. This mission takes place in an alternate dimension," Kaitlyn confirmed. She threw her bag strap over her shoulder and exited her room. "We'll hook up when I come back." Raph could feel the blood rush to his cheeks, tinting them with natural blush. He knew she didn't mean 'hook up' in that sense, but couldn't help his reaction to the thought of going on a proper date with her; this super strong beauty who could bench press a bus one handed.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. That-… that would be, … yeah," he stumbled over his words, silently kicking himself. "I'll see you when you get back."

"You bet," she assured him. "See you later, Raffle." They hung up.

"What about a portal?" Donnie rushed out as soon as he saw his brother end the call. Raph rolled his eyes at Don's predictability.

"The Fantastic Four and the twins are going to another dimension," Raph explained, shrugging his shoulders. "They need a portal to do that." Don's eyes sparkled with the thought of a portal that didn't belong to the Kraang. He marvelled at the thought of being able to use it, find out what places it could travel to, no matter how unreachable a hope that was. Raph stared at his brother, trying to imagine what went on in that brain of his, before rolling his eyes once more.

...

"I've put up with you guys for a long time," Mikey spoke with irritation heavy in his tone. "But this is about to get real!" He stood before his two brothers, Don and Raph, inside Murakami's sushi shop. They were posed in warrior stances, ready to face down in a fight.

"You don't want this kind of pain, Mikey," Raph threatened while slamming his fist into his palm.

"Big talk for someone with such a limited vocabulary, Raph," Don mocked his brother, leaning in close to him. Raph pressed his hand into Don's face and shoved him to the side. Donnie took a few steps back, wobbling slightly to regain his balance.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Leo asked while sitting backwards on one of the shop stools and leaning his elbows on the bar counter.

"Are you kidding me?" Raph spoke loudly, but not necessary with a shout. He pulled his hands into fists and brought them up into a boxing position. "I was born ready."

Leo turned his head to address the blind shop owner with a smile, "Okay, Mr. Murakami."

"One pizza Gyoza, coming up," Mr. Murakami announced, holding up a single gyoza dumpling with a pair of chopsticks. With eyes glazing over, Don, Mikey and Raph stuck out their tongues in anticipation, salivating at the delicious memory of past pizza gyozas that have entered their mouths. Mr. Murakami recoiled his hand, extending it immediately with great force to send the dumpling flying over the turtle brothers' heads. Donnie leapt into the air first, reaching towards the savoury snack. He was quickly kicked in the shell by Mikey, who used his brother as leverage to get higher and closer to the desired dumpling. Raph acted next, coming out of nowhere and shoving his palm into Mikey's face to knock his younger brother of course. Raph was now the only turtle closing in on the gyoza. He opened his mouth to catch it, but was grabbed by the ankle, halting him immediately. The gyoza bounced off his forehead as he was yanked to the ground. Mikey pinned his brother to the ground, pressing his shell against his brother's and wrapping his arms around his limbs. Donnie was in a similar predicament, being pinned under Mikey's legs. The pizza gyoza continued to fall, moving on a trajectory straight for Mikey's mouth. He opened his mouth and closed his eyes, blissfully awaiting the heavenly taste to wash over his tongue. But instead of feeling the weight of the gyoza enter his mouth, he felt a rush of air inches above his face. He quickly opened his eyes and saw that Leo's katana had intercepted and caught the dumpling on the flat side of its blade. Mikey's expression saddened as Leo slowly pulled his katana away, taking the pizza gyoza with it.

"I thought I'd play after all," he said smugly, flipping the dumpling off his blade and into his mouth. His brothers untangle and stood.

Raph spread his arms out with questioning and anger, "what happened to Mr.'I'm too broody for this game'?"

"Mmm," Leo mumbled as he chewed, pretending like he didn't hear his brother's teasing question. "These things are really good." He wandered off to the side as Mr. Murakami faced back to the turtles, carrying a tray of pizza gyoza.

"My restaurant was never that popular until I invented these for you," he told them, a hidden thank you playing in his words. Raph, Mikey and Don stared fondly at the dish of delicious dumplings filled with the very pizza ingredients they enjoyed so passionately. Hands flew as the brothers raced to grab their share of the gyoza, and before long they were each chowing down without the use of chopsticks. Leo walked off behind them, not bothering to get any more dumplings. Donnie turned to see his brother and leader staring solemnly out the window.

"He's still brooding," Donnie spoke quietly.

Raph's attention was drawn and he turned to look at Leo as well, "he's thinking about her. About Karai."

Leo tilted his head towards his brothers, hearing what they were saying despite their attempts to keep their volume low. He slowly moved back to stare out the window as he spoke, "Master Splinter is her father." He faced his brothers again, eyes brimming with heartache. "How could she still want to be with the Shredder?" Don and Raph glanced at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say, before their youngest brother stood up on the bar counter.

"You have to have faith, Leo," he spoke, mouth still full of dumplings. "Her entire life was shown to be a lie. This is a challenge to everything she knows. The truth will set her free. Just give her the time she needs to accept who she is." His words were barely audible, but his brothers didn't really care.

"Right," Don spoke, rolling out the word, as well as his eyes. He got up from his stool and walked over to his brooding brother. "Look, Leo, she'll come around."

Raph held a dumpling up to his mouth, but paused to give a comment, "Yeah, well, personally, I hope she doesn't. I don't trust her, not for one second." Mikey slid his hand towards his hot-headed brother's pizza gyoza and skilfully slipped it out from between his fingers.

"You're right, Raph. You shouldn't trust anyone," Don said smugly, the possibility of a chuckle hidden among his tone. Raph went to continue eating his gyoza, but bit down on his fingers instead. He cried out in pain before looking up at his younger brother to watch him eat the gyoza that was taken from him. Raph growled in anger and leapt at Mikey, knocking him off the counter and landing them both on the ground behind it. Leo stared in their direction, listening to the sounds of them struggling and fighting with each other. He eventually turned back to the window, sighing to himself and brooding once more about Karai's fate.


	3. An Extra Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

Karai stood on the roof of Foot headquarters. Tigerclaw was allowed some time to rest before going on the mission Shredder had given them, and she had decided to wait on the roof to do more thinking. Her arms were crossed, and the wind blew softly at her hair. Her expression was sullen, eyes lowered to the ground. "Want to talk?" came a voice from behind her. She spun around with her ninja reflexes, drawing her blade and thrusting it against the throat of whoever was behind her. Drawback stood calmly in front of her, not even flinching from the blade. A sly, yet friendly, smile sat across his face. He slowly brought his finger to the tip of the blade and gently pushed it away from his jugular. "You must be really distracted to let someone sneak up on you," he told her. She had been very still since she had spun to face him, only now relaxing her posture and letting a smile slide across her lips.

"Drawback," she purred, sheathing her weapon. He had become a long-time friend of hers after they met in Japan on a trip he had taken there with his grandparents. She had always been intimidating and, because of that, didn't make any friends. But Drawback hadn't seen her as intimidating, and became her first, real friend. After years of being pen pals, they had finally been reunited when Karai arrived in New York. She continued to speak, "it's nothing. Just a few doubts. I'm sure they'll go away."

"Might go away faster if you talked about it," he suggested with a shrug. Karai's smile fell away and she averted her gaze. Drawback mirrored her expression as he realized the seriousness of her mood. He remained silent, waiting to see if she would open up and attempting to think of another way to ease the situation. He finally spoke again, "Or, we could just steal something. Something hard to get to, 'cause that always makes you feel-"

"I'm having doubts about my father," Karai interrupted. Drawback said nothing, patiently waiting for her to continue. "I'm sure you've heard about the turtles by now. I know them better than most. Leonardo, their leader … he told me that their Master Splinter was my true father; that Master Shredder has been lying to me my entire life." A long silence hung in the hair between them.

"Do you believe him," Drawback asked. "Cause the turtles could also be the ones lying."

"I know that," Karai agreed. "But there's … I don't know, inconsistencies? Holes?" She paused, turning back to face Drawback. "I have never seen a photo where my mother and Shredder are together. He tells me they were lost in the fire that took her, but the photo I have of her, it looks torn, not burned." She paused again. "And there are other things; things I can't explain."

Drawback waited a moment, in case she had something to add, before responding, "That's pretty heavy. We're gonna have'ta break into something with way high security to give you a thrill big enough to raise those low spirits." He gave her a playful smile; one he always gave her to make her feel better. A smile pulled at the corner of her lips as well.

"Hm," she lightly laughed. "You know me so well."

"What is this?" Tigerclaw growled as he walked across the roof to the two teens. He was eyeing Drawback menacingly.

"Down, kitty," Karai mocked. "He's a friend."

Tigerclaw growled again, "Really? I did not think you had friends." Karai glared at him as he continued, snickering slightly, "Say your good byes, then, so we can begin our mission."

"Need an extra hand, whiskers?" Drawback offered, barely letting the tiger mutant finish his sentence. Tigerclaw snapped his head in the boy's direction and growled loudly. He didn't like working with children, and he had already been ordered to bring Karai along. She at least held a tactical advantage, but this boy was a stranger to him.

"I think we can work with that," Karai said, accepting Drawback's help before Tigerclaw could object. He wasn't happy about it. He extended his claws and lunged at Karai, only stopping inches from her face. She didn't flinch. Drawback, however, did. He took a step towards the two Foot soldiers, quickly drawing a switch blade from his pocket.

"Do not forget who is in charge here, little girl!" Tigerclaw roared. "You are only coming along to assist me!"

"Why don't you back it on up there, you fur-hide freak!?" Drawback threatened, pointing his blade at Tigerclaw.

"You don't scare me, little boy!" Tigerclaw spat back, spinning to face him. As he did so, Karai silently took out her blade and placed it at the base of Tigerclaw's throat.

"It is you who forgets your place," she hissed. "Drawback comes with us, or I have my father demote you to Stockman's babysitter." Tigerclaw grew silent, glaring at Karai's smug, smiling face. He retracted his claws and backed away, lowering his hands to his sides.

"Very well, Karai," he spoke calmly. "But if he jeopardizes anything, Shredder will be punishing him."

...

Karai, Drawback and Tigerclaw bounded across the rooftops of New York City. They had been mobile for about 15 minutes and they moved swiftly, barely appearing as shadows in the dark night. "Having a hard time keeping up, children?" Tigerclaw mocked, briefly glancing back to Karai and Drawback without losing his stride.

"I was taking it easy on you since you're working with only one eye and no tail," Karai teased back with her typical snide yet playful tone as Drawback laughed along. Tigerclaw stopped and turned to address the young kunochi and her friend.

"You think you're clever? You're a fool! Both of you!" he roared.

"I'm the fool?" Karai spat back, jabbing a finger at herself and then at Tigerclaw in an accusing manor. "You've faced the Turtles in battle before and lost. What exactly is your grand plan for revenge here?"

Tigerclaw placed his hands on his hips, "to destroy warriors such as these, you don't strike at their limbs." He flexed his hand, demonstrating his claws for Karai and Drawback. "You go for their heart."

"And what does an overgrown cat know of the heart?" Drawback interjected, his tone showing hints of amusement as he mocked the mutant.

Tigerclaw glanced at the boy, but then turned back to Karai, answering Drawback's question while ignoring him. "Why do you think the Shredder sent you with me?" Tigerclaw asked, surprised she hadn't figured it out already.

Karai's eyes grew wide, and a gasp escaped her lips, as the realization suddenly hit her, "because I know them. I know the places they go. I know their weakness, their friends; April o'Neil and Casey Jones."

"The riders of the worm," Tigerclaw growled. "They will all pay for what they did to me."

"Riders of the what now?" Drawback asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

...

Mr. Murakami swept the floor of his shop. The turtles had eaten their fill of pizza gyoza and left for the night, leaving the sushi shop owner to close up. He felt a gust of wind and the sound of something moving swiftly by him, causing him to look up. "Hello?" he asked. "Is somebody there? Leonardo?" He turned, sensing a large presence looming behind him as a low rumbling growl could be heard.

"Not quite," Karai spoke, standing on the bar counter behind Tigerclaw, who was standing over Mr. Murakami. Drawback was crouching on one knee next to Karai. The blind shop keeper held up his broom, a feeble attempt at protecting himself. Tigerclaw slashed the broom out of his hand, sending it flying to the other side of the room. Karai threw Murakami up against the wall violently, pointing her blade at his face. Drawback followed her lead, taking out his switch blade, but remained on standby only. "The Turtles," Karai said sternly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mr. Murakami stammered.

"Lying will only make this worse," Karai's voice grew louder with her impatience. "Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello. Where do they live?"

Mr. Murakami struggled under Karai's restraint, grunting as he tried to wiggle free, "I don't know.  
Please, please." Karai's face softened from hearing the old man's pleas, retreating slightly into her own hesitations.

"There is no honour in this," she said with shaky breaths. She stood and walked away. Drawback and Tigerclaw watched her leave, before the mutant approached Murakami and extracted his claws. Drawback shot one last glance at Tigerclaw and Murakami before following Karai out of the shop.

"I didn't come here for honour," Tigerclaw rumbled to the blind man.


	4. Strike the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

The turtle brothers tumbled down the fire escape on their way back home. Mikey flipped backwards off the last platform, landing on his skateboard. "Guys, stop!" Mikey called suddenly, eyes bulging as he took one step off his board. His brothers turned to him quickly, as Leo had begun to lift the manhole cover leading to their home.

"What is it, Mikey?" he asked, whispering hastily.

"I feel like we're forgetting something," Mikey said, in a tone much too serious for his playful nature. "Something important. Something, something the fate of the world could depend on!" He moved his arms around as he talked, his playful, high pitched tone returning. "It's right on the tip of my tongue." He frowned as he pointed at his mouth, not pleased with his forgetfulness.

"The Kraang?" Donnie suggested.

"No," Mikey declined.

"The Foot clan?" Leo asked.

"No."

"The Rat King?" Raph offered.

"No," Mikey placed his hands at the sides of his head, as though he was attempting to squeeze the idea out. "Wait! I remember. My doggy bag! The leftover Gyoza are back at Mr. Murakami's. We have to go back!" Mikey quickly took off, heading back to the restaurant as his brothers stayed put and sighed at their younger sibling, exasperated at his ridiculousness. "Fate of the world!" he called as he skated away.

...

The brothers entered the shop. The place was trashed, with claw marks covering the walls. They gaped at the destruction. "What happened?" Donnie spoke.

"Mr. Murakami!" Mikey cried out as he spotted their friend sitting on the floor, leaning against the sushi bar. The brothers ran over to him, and Mikey placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Murakami, it's me, Mikey. Are you okay?"

"They came looking for you," Mr. Murakami stammered as Don and Mikey helped him to a seat at the bar. "They wanted to know where you lived. But I didn't know. They asked about your friends. To my shame, I told them everything I knew." Mr. Murakami lowered his head as he confessed.

"Who did this?" Raph demanded, angered that someone would go after Mr. Murakami.

"The girl … and the growling man," Mr. Murakami told them. "And a boy who said nothing … I just heard the blade he held." Leo walked over to the wall and examined one set of the claw marks that covered most surfaces of the restaurant.

"Tiger Claw is back," Leo concluded, turning back to his brothers with worry in his tone and features. "And he's going after April and Casey." Donnie's eyes suddenly grew wide, mirroring Leo's worry.

"We have to get to April! And Casey, you know, time permitting," Donnie spoke, quickly correcting himself.

"The girl has got to be Karai, Leo," Raph growled, turning angrily to his brother in blue with furrowed brows. "I told you-"

"Not now, Raph," Leo barked, cutting him off. The two brothers nearly had their noses pressed together, staring each other down. He thought a moment before continuing to speak, "what boy would be with them?"

"April's not answering her T-phone. She always answers," Donnie announced, interrupting his brothers' squabble. He spoke quickly as the panic began to set in.

"We'll split up," Leo decided. "Me and Donnie will go to April's place, you and Mikey get to the ice rink and warn Casey." Mikey and Raph didn't hesitate, running out of the restaurant to get to the ice rink. Donnie walked slowly up to Leo, holding his T-phone in his hand and staring at the screen. The worry and panic had now subsided as solid fear took over, leaving him numb.

"Why wouldn't she answer her phone?" he spoke quietly.

...

April burst out of the cinema doors excitedly, followed by Casey and Irma. "Best movie ever!" April cheered. "The part where the Captain is cornered by the monster, and it's all slobber and fangs and goo, and then boom, that explosion knocked them out of orbit and, and they're falling into the star and, and, and." She continued to gush over the movie as the three friends made their way home, oblivious to the odd shadows that moved swiftly around them.

"I just don't get why our date had a third wheel attached to it," Casey grumbled as he trailed behind April. He was visibly unimpressed, not keeping it a secret how he felt about Irma.

"Hello? I'm right here," Irma chimed sarcastically, waving to Casey as she walked past him.

"That's the problem," Casey blurted, irritation growing in his tone as he gestured angrily to Irma.  
April turned to Casey, placing her hand on her hip and giving him a playful smile, "Who said anything about this being a…" She paused, sensing something was amiss. She placed a hand against her temple, trying to focus her power.

"What is it?" Casey asked in a hushed tone.

April looked up, surveying the area, "We're being followed."

"What?" Irma squeaked, becoming stiff and unsettled by this news.

"All right, whatever it is, we split up and lead it away from the third wheel here," Casey suggested, holding up his hand beside his mouth as he whispered. "Plan?"

"Plan," April agreed, just before the two of them took off in opposite directions.

"Guys, am I missing something?" Irma called after them as they left her blinking on the sidewalk. "Well, that's just great."

Casey ran down the road, quickly locating his stashed vigilante gear. April ran down another road, glancing occasionally over her shoulder. Karai ran parallel to her on the rooftops above. Casey continued down his path, putting on his gear and dropping his mask over his face. He ran, sprinting down an alley and ducking behind a dumpster. He sat there, breathing heavily, and then took a glance around the corner of the trash bin. He hopped out of his cover, "Yes! Coast is clear. Casey Jones can't be caught." He stiffened as he heard a threatening growl above him. He looked up to see Tigerclaw gripping the edge of a fire escape. "Aww, nuts," he moaned as Tigerclaw leapt down and knocked the teen onto his back. Casey took the hit well, but stayed down to play dead. As Tigerclaw approached, Casey jolted upright and thrust his homemade taser into the mutant tiger's abdomen. He roared out as the painful electricity coursed through his body, falling to his knees afterwards. Casey moved quickly to his feet, whipping out his roller blade attachments and skating to the edge of the alley. "Come on, tiger dude," he taunted, rolling from side to side. "Let's see what you … got?" Tigerclaw slowly got to his feet, a low, intimidating growl rumbling in his gut. He glared at the boy with his one, good eye, striking fear into him. Casey rolled backwards, slowly putting some distance between himself and the threatening mutant. "You know what? On second thought," he began as Tigerclaw lunged at him, swiping away his hockey stick with his paw. "I don't need to see what you've got." Casey fled the alley with Tigerclaw close in tow.

...

Don and Leo had gone to April's home to check on her, but were instead greeted by her worry-riddled father. The two turtle brothers barely had enough time to feed Mr. O'Neil all the information before he had whipped out his phone to dial his daughter's number. "She's not answering," he stated, in his typical panicked tone. "She always answers."

"That's what I said!" Don said, shoulders raised with the same worry April's father felt.

"Kirby, you said she went to the movies," Leo cut in, using a calm, serious tone that the other two severely lacked. "That's where we start." Don quickly threw away any visible signs of his worries and replaced them with a serious nod, agreeing to follow his brother's lead.


	5. Talk is Cheap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

Karai ran along the rooftops, following her prey; April O'Neil. She had managed to gain ahead of her, and leapt down the side of a fire escape to land in front of the teenage red head, blocking her path of escape. "O'Neil," Karai spoke flatly, void of all emotion, yet strong with a grim tone. April reacted without hesitation, relying on her training and taking a defensive stance with her fan blade.

"You want to do this, Karai? Fine," April barked, keeping her stance wide. "But I'm warning you, I've been training with Master Splinter big time, and I'm ready to kick your butt." She shifted her pose a few times to keep moving, trying to throw Karai off.

"I didn't come to fight," Karai confessed, holding her hands in a slight surrender, showing signs of submissive actions. "I came to talk." April paused, confused and a little shocked at this outcome, and debating whether Karai could be trusted.

"Oh, well I've been trained in that too," April said sheepishly, choosing to give Karai a chance, knowing that the turtles had been attempting to tell her about her true father. However, she didn't lower her weapon right away.

...

Drawback laid low on a nearby rooftop, binoculars in hand. He watched the girls talk with each other, as Karai had ordered him to keep watch. He had offered to go after Casey when they were planning how to split up, knowing that Karai could handle herself without him, but Tigerclaw wouldn't let him go alone. He argued with the talking fur ball as stubbornly as he could, but the stoic tiger held his ground too well. So Drawback opted to stay with Karai and aid her. Boring, yes. But better than spending quality time with a mutant tiger. "Lousy feline," Drawback muttered under his breath as he waited on standby, waiting for Karai's signal that the situation was under control. April took a battle stance and Drawback slowly pulled out his blade, getting prepared to move. A few minutes passed, still no signal. Karai had her hands slightly raised. He saw April's face shift into shock and her stance relaxed a bit, looking less tense. She said something to Karai, and then straightened her pose, dropping her battle stance even more. The red head closed her fan blade, but kept it firmly gripped in her hand. Then Karai, after lowering her hands, flicked her wrist backwards, towards Drawback's view, with two fingers pointed to the sky; the signal. Drawback put his knife and the binoculars away with a smile. He continued to watch, ready to follow silently when they went on the move.

...

Casey flipped and rolled over cars as he proceeded to flee from Tigerclaw, cracking jokes as he did. "Whoa! You know, part of me always wanted to fight a man-eating tiger. Know any real ones?" Casey teased as he dodged the ninja's throwing weapons.

"Do you think this is a game?" Tigerclaw growled, getting frustrated at the childishness of the teen's words and actions. He followed closely to the boy, knocking over a car or two whenever he got close enough.

"Whoa! Yeah, keep away from one-eyed freaks," Casey retorted, rolling away on his skates to a parking garage in the distance. "Or we could play a game of crush the cat." Casey smacked a button as he rolled by, lowering one of the platforms that held a car. Tigerclaw stopped, being unable to follow directly. "Later!" Casey called out behind him as he began climbing the other platforms, cheering as he went. Tigerclaw activated his jet pack, moving up and around the platforms to get closer to his target. Casey continued to move inward to the other side of the garage and made his way to its roof, where Tigerclaw met him with a spinning sword. Casey rolled backwards, pulling out another hockey stick and pointing it at his enemy. "If it wasn't for the fact that I'm gonna die, this would be so cool!"

...

Karai and April moved to a nearby roof top to have their conversation in private. April stood a few feet from Karai, arms crossed. She listened intently to what the kunoichi had to say. "All my life, I was raised to believe that the Shredder was my father. That Splinter was the enemy," Karai shared. She paused as she took a seat on the abandoned crate she was standing next to. A slight breeze picked up, blowing at the girls' hair. "So when Leo told me that Splinter was my true father, I couldn't accept it," Karai continued. "But then I began to have doubts about Shredder's honour." Karai lowered her head, speaking solemnly as she confessed her feelings to April.

"Doubts about the evil leader of the evil ninja clan?" April asked sarcastically, waving her one hand in circles. "Really?" She crossed her arms again, and gave Karai a displeased stare.

Karai had turned to look at April while she talked, and once again turned away in shame, "Yes. Even now, the Shredder has sent Tiger Claw to destroy the Turtles. He's trying to use me to set a trap for them. But I can't. … Even if it means betraying Shredder." Karai looked to April, eyes swollen with guilt and pleading her fellow teen for help. April's stare softened as her eyes widened and her brows rose with surprise.

...

Casey burst through a door on another rooftop, still out running the mutated tiger. "Taste exploding puck!" he exclaimed, tossing three miniature explosives taped to hockey pucks in Tigerclaw's direction. Tigerclaw held up his arm to cover his face as the pucks exploded around him, but didn't stop his momentum. The cloud of smoke from the small bombs enveloped the mutant momentarily, before he emerged dramatically, swiping at the smoke with his paws. Casey skated backwards as Tigerclaw leapt after him. The teen vigilante threw a few more pucks that exploded around Tigerclaw, but the jungle cat's reflexes were too fast for any of them to land a direct hit. He lunged at Casey, who managed to avoid him by jumping onto the roof's edge and flipping over the mutant. He spun around to face his attacker again, struggling to maintain his balance after his landing. He cried out in his struggle as he nearly fell into the abandoned rooftop greenhouse to his side. "Okay, cat-man-dude," Casey spoke seriously, pulling out his bat after losing both his hockey sticks. "You wanna do this? Let's do this." He took a few swings at his adversary, before Tigerclaw caught his bat in mid swing. He lifted both it and Casey into the air and tossed them aside. The bat flew across the green house, but Casey had let go early and landed on his feet on one of the plant tables. It tipped into the air, wobbling on two legs and threatening to flip over, before falling back to its earlier position. Casey jumped up and grabbed onto the sprinkler system, spinning himself around to kick Tigerclaw. The ninja grabbed the boy's ankle, and Casey struggled to hold his grip. But the strength of Tigerclaw surpassed the masked hero, and he was slammed against the tables in the greenhouse. Tigerclaw held him above the cement floor by his ankle, growling ferociously.

"You will pay for what you did to me," Tigerclaw promised him, "The suffering you caused; the pain I endured."

"You're not still mad about the whole worm thing, are you?" Casey joked with hints of fear in his tone. Tigerclaw merely growled in response. He threw the boy off the roof, and he bounced of the fire escape, off the dumpster and onto the ground. His phone fell out of his pocket, landing not too far from where he had landed. Casey struggled to raise his head, locking eyes on his phone. He used the last of his energy to stretch his arm out and send an s.o.s. signal to Raph.

...

Raph and Mikey waited at the ice rink where they had gone looking for Casey. Raph stood at the side, resting his crossed arms against the rail of the rink, while Mikey skated bare foot around the ice. He danced around and moonwalked as Raph glared at his little brother's antics. Suddenly his phone went off. He quickly pulled it out, checking the caller I.D. before answering it. "Casey? Casey? Casey, answer me!" He heard nothing, and lowered his phone to see if it had accidently gotten disconnected, not that that would change his mind about what he thought happened.

"Something's wrong, Mikey. What are we gonna do?" Mikay skated over to the side of the rink where Raph stood, staring at him with a goofy smile for a moment.

"I know exactly what to do," Mikey chimed excitedly, as Raph's face fell into annoyance. "We can use our phones to triangulate the position of Casey's T-phone by bouncing the locator signal off the satellite." Mikey smiled, pleased with himself and his suggestion. Raph stared in disbelief at the idea that came out of his silly, little brother.

"That's … actually a good idea," Raph told him, blinking a few times. "It's like we're in some kind of alternate universe or something."

"You can also track pizza delivery guys that way," Mikey added, returning to his goofy nature. "Booya-kasha."


	6. Unbelievable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

Leo and Donnie stood on top of the movie theatre, surveying the area in search of April. Donnie raised his hand over his eyes, sweeping his gaze across the landscape and roof tops. He spotted April on a nearby rooftop, accompanied by Karai. "There's April. Come on!" Don informed his brother, taking off towards the girl of his dreams. They made it to the other roof immediately, climbing over the edge to close in and protect April. "Get away from her," Donnie shouted angrily.

"Leo, Donny, wait!" April exclaimed, surprised at their sudden arrival. She placed a hand on Don's chest to prevent him from advancing further on Karai. "You have to listen to what she has to say."

"I believe you, Leonardo!" Karai blurted quickly, trying to clear things up before it all got out of hand. "I believe that Splinter is my true father." The turtle brothers stared at karai, eyes wide and jaws dropped, for several moments.

"I believe that she believes you," April told Leo.

"I believe," Donnie began, pausing momentarily to think. "April."

Karai stared at Leo, a solemn expression occupying her face as she glanced to the ground a few times. Leo stared back, still shocked and wondering about how to react. He looked down.

"This," he spoke steadily, before bringing his head back up with the biggest grin. "This is great!" He spread his arms wide with joy and walked over to Karai's side, taking her by the hand. "I knew you'd come around. We'll take you to the lair to see Master Splinter." Karai stared blankly at him as he dragged her across the roof. April and Donnie followed. What no one noticed, was Karai making another, subtle hand signal to Drawback, who continued to trail them.

"Whew," Donnie sighed. "Raph's not gonna believe this."

...

"I don't believe this!" Raph bellowed, standing in the opening of their lair. His escalating rage was enough to send anyone who didn't know his temper to run away in a panic. He bared his teeth in something of a snarl to further show his negative mood. Mikey skittishly crossed the room behind his brothers with a pot of soup for Casey, who they had retrieved from the alley. He was badly beaten and lying unconscious on the turtle brothers' couch. "What have you guys done?" Raph continued.

"Casey!" April cried, running over to him and ignoring Raph's outburst.

"What world do you live in that it's okay to bring the princess of the foot clan to out secret lair?" Raph lectured.

"What happened to Casey?" Leo asked nonchalantly, avoiding Raph's source of anger. The red banded turtle turned to point a hand at his friend.

"Tiger Claw threw him off a building. And you just brought his partner in crime home for dinner," Raph barked, not letting Leo change the subject.

"Shredder lied to me!" Karai blurted, sadness and regret in her expression. "I didn't know."  
Raph glared at her, pulling out his weapons, "did you know that I'm about to stick this sai right up your-."

"Raph, no!" Leo exclaimed, shoving his brother back. "She understands now."

"She gets it," Don chimed in. "She knows the truth, Raph. Everything's gonna be fine." Karai took a suspicious step back, placing her arms behind her back as the brothers bickered. She lightly flicked her wrist and a small device slid from beneath her armour into her palm. She pressed a button and it lit up.

On another roof, waiting patiently, Tigerclaw stood staring at a similar device. It lit up like Karai's had, and Tigerclaw engulfed the small device in his paw, licking his teeth in anticipation.

"Will you just listen?" Leo begged, still trying to defend Karai.

"I've heard enough from you and your girlfriend," Raph hissed, waving his sai. "She's probably leading the Shredder here right now." He went for her again, being grabbed by Leo to keep him from getting at her.

"Enough!" Splinter's booming voice rushed over his sons. They settled instantly. His focus moved from each of his sons, until he saw Karai standing with them. "Miwa," he breathed, face lighting up with hope.

"Splinter," Karai bowed her head to him. He closed his eyes, reflecting on this gift that had come to him.

"Come with me," he spoke calmly, turning towards the dojo. No one moved. The turtle brothers eventually turned, one by one, to face Karai, giving her silent queues that she should go after him. She looked up, taking another moment to pause, and then walked past the turtles to meet with Splinter. As she left, Raph casually raised his fist and punched Leo in the arm, his angry glare not leaving his expression. Leo jolted forward from the blow, and looked back at his brother in irritation.

Karai entered the dojo and stopped to marvel at the beauty of the tree that blossomed there. The glittering blue light shining through its leaves washed over her face. But then her smile faltered as she grew sad from remembering her mission. She continued to Splinter's side as he waited patiently by the mantle where he kept his most precious memories. "I retain very little from my old life," he began. "But this I will never let go, my daughter." He handed her the photo of himself with his precious Tang Shen. It matched the slightly torn version the Shredder had given her as a girl, but her version only showed her mother. Her eyes grew wide as she recognized it. Splinter stepped aside as she looked up again, showing her the photo that hung on the wall just beneath the mantle; this one showing himself, Tang Shien and their baby daughter, Miwa.

"I can't believe it," she stammered. "You're telling the truth." She stumbled back, the sudden knowledge weighing down on her very soul. "All these years, the Shredder has been lying to me."

"Wait," Leo spoke, entering the room with his brothers. "You can't believe it? I thought you did believe it. If you didn't believe it, why did you come down here?"

Her face darkened with fear and terror, all her thoughts swirling around in her mind as she turned back to address Splinter. "Father. What have I done?"

...

Tigerclaw ran across the rooftops, following the signal Karai's device was transmitting. He leapt down into an alley, sniffing around to try to get their scent. "Reptiles," he growled, glancing again at the transmitter. "Where are you?" He sniffed the air again, and his good eye traveled to a nearby manhole cover. He dropped to his knees and placed his face close to the cover, taking another long sniff. "Underground. In the sewers."


	7. Open Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

"You had to see with your own eyes," Splinter was telling Karai back in the lair, taking her shoulders gently in his hands. "You had to learn the truth for yourself."

Karai, eyes still wide from the new information she'd gotten, stared at the floor. "You knew," she whispered, looking back up at her true father. "You knew I was lying."

"No doubt the Shredder's forces are on their way," Splinter confessed the knowledge he had assumed since he saw Karai in their lair.

"What was that last part?" Don asked, leaning forward and placing his hands on his hips. His words were very sarcastic to hide his sudden anxiety over their lair being discovered. Karai stared a moment, before averting her gaze guiltily. She pulled out the tracking device, "Tiger Claw is tracking me." The brothers faces all turned ashen, aside from Raph, who turned red with rage.

"I told you!" Raph shouted in Leo's ear, causing him to wince.

"Karai!" Leo spoke with a whine in his tone. The hurt he was feeling inside ached at her betrayal and was made evident on his face and in the way his shoulders slumped.

"There's no time to argue!" Karai blurted, panicking at her mistake. "I have to get out of here.  
I can, I can lead Tiger Claw away." She stammered as her fear escalated, threatening to take away all usefulness of her brain as she struggled to think.

"Go," Splinter ordered. "Take Karai and watch over her. I will stay with April and attend to Casey." The brothers listened, turning to exit the lair. Karai went to follow, but was stopped by Splinter resting his hand on her shoulder once more. He pulled her back, turning her to face him. She met his eyes for only a few seconds before lowering her head, again feeling her guilt ravage through her emotions. "You are who you choose to be, not what others make you," he told her softly. She heard his words, but couldn't bring herself to raise her gaze again. Her whole world had been shaken and she was struggling to cope with it, along with all the emotions that flooded her when she saw that photo of her true parents. She turned quietly, making her way to the exit and passing Raph as she did.

"Some of us choose to be right all the time," he said angrily, the resentment he held for her standing strong.

"Will you just go?" Leo barked at his brother, furrowing his brows and shoving Raph roughly by his shoulder to push him out of the room. He felt anger towards his brother for the behaviour he was displaying, but despite being rude, as he usually was, he had been right. Leo was angry, but more so at himself, for falling for her yet again, refusing to see logically, and putting his friends and family in danger. Splinter watched after them as they left to lead their adversary away from their home. A slow, soft smile crept across his face. The teens ran towards the entrance of the lair and, just as they approached, Drawback dropped down from above. The turtles reacted reflexively, drawing their weapons and taking battle stances. Drawback held his hands defensively, showing confusion on his face as he glanced from the turtles to Karai.

"Change of plans, Karai?" he asked.

"You're the punk from the store!" Raph exclaimed. "The one robbing the place!"

"Wait. He's with me. He can help," Karai told them, stepping between them before turning back to Drawback. "They're telling the truth. Shredder's lying to me. I'll explain on the way, but we need to move," she told him. Drawback nodded and the group was on the move once more. Casey was still unconscious on the couch as the turtles, Karai and Drawback exited. April sat on the back of the couch above him, perching like a protective gargoyle. He was covered in bruises and bandages, with a horribly swollen eye. Splinter slowly entered the room to keep the promise he had made to his sons and watch over their human friends. April sensed him come in, and turned to address him. "Do you think he's gonna be okay?" she spoke softly. She turned back to the boy on the couch as he began to squirm and groan. She smiled at him as he began to come through and his mumbles became coherent.

"April," he whimpered. "Why did you have to bring Irma again? She's so nasty." April simply smirked at her friend.

...

The turtles ran through the sewer with Karai and Drawback behind them. Above ground, Tigerclaw grew frustrated as he continued to track them, following the moving dot on his device screen that didn't seem to stop. The crew underground came to a small clearing with multiple direction paths and stopped in front of a deep, sewer trench. Karai was panting hard, but not from exhaustion. She was still feeling the effects from her earlier panic and anxiety; still having trouble focusing her thoughts. "Well, princess? You got us into this. Where to?" Raph begrudgingly asked her. Drawback shot him a look, not appreciating the emotional attacks he was throwing at his friend, especially after she'd been emotionally compromised. Karai continued to shift her gaze nervously around the clearing, passing her eyes over every available option.

"I, … I don't know," she stammered, breathing heavily.

"Everyone, stop!" Mikey suddenly cried out, gaining everyone's attention. "I know exactly where to go." He moved his arms like he was performing katas, pointing them to the sky and smiling brightly. His brothers stared at him, wide eyed and frightened, knowing that their brother hasn't had the best track record with ideas.

"I feel scared," Don whimpered. Drawback's eyes grew wide at this statement, and he shifted his gaze to the turtle who had spoken, looking frightened himself. Mikey took off quickly, expecting the rest to follow.

"What'd you mean before?" Drawback asked Don in a hushed, panicked tone as they all began to follow the youngest turtle. "Is this a bad idea? Should we not be following him?" Donnie simply gave him a sideways glance, saying nothing; his deadpan stare looking down at the purple dragon gang member. This did nothing to ease Drawback.


	8. Facing the Tiger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

Tigerclaw was reaching the height of his frustration, and it was now growing into anger. He had been following Karai's signal all over the city, and was beginning to get suspicious about what the kunoichi was doing. He already didn't trust her or her abilities, and now she was leading him to a meat packaging plant, or she was allowing those pesky turtles to lead her astray. He went to the back of the plant, kicking the door off its hinges. He entered cautiously, sniffing around for his prey, but the abundance of meat was throwing off his senses. He walked through the cold, dark room, passing the frozen meats hanging from hooks as his warm breath could be seen escaping his mouth.  
"I can't smell you, but I can hear you," he growled, punching a slab of meat. He heard swift movement behind him and turned on his heal. "Show yourselves!" He heard more movement, flipped around again, and came to a conclusion. "They're stalking me," he growled to himself. He growled again, louder to intimate the ones who dared to hunt him, and drew his sword. He spun around again, hearing someone approaching from behind. He was instantly ambushed from the side as Mikey struck a solid kick to his face. Tigerclaw reacted quickly, swiping his sword after Mikey, but missed and cut a meat slab in half. "Are you afraid to face me?" Another one of the brothers struck him from the other side, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the meat storage.

"Are you afraid to fight me?!" He swept his gaze around the cooler anxiously, trying to get a beat on the turtles. His ears twitched as he listened for the them. Raph came down from above, poised for a downward kick, but Tigerclaw had adjusted for the lack of his sense of smell and grabbed Raph's ankle before he made contact, throwing him across the cooler. The turtle lost one of his sais as he was thrown. It spun from his hand, being suspended in the air until Tigerclaw plucked it from the air like a fresh piece of fruit. He held it poised for a fight, like the sword resting in his other hand. The four brothers stood before him, disappearing and reappearing behind the swaying meats.

"Let us finish this," he taunted menacingly, backing through the flaps that lead to the butcher room. The turtles slowly followed, and entered into a standoff; Tigerclaw on one side of the table and the turtles on the other. Neither side dared to avert their gaze as their eyes squinted dangerously close to being closed. Tigerclaw growled. The leaky faucet dripped. The old lights flickered in short intervals. And then the lights went out, and the turtle brothers disappeared from view. They attacked the tiger mutant, Leo and Raph flanking him from either side, with Raph still fighting with only half a weapons set. Tigerclaw blocked Leo's katana with his brother's sai, and Raph's sai with his sword. He twisted his weapons to lock in the brothers' weapons and spun around to send them to the opposite side of the room that they came from. Don dropped down from above, landing on one of the tables, and swung his staff at Tigerclaw. The Foot soldier stopped it with his teeth, chomping down on the wood and flinging Don across the room. He slammed into the wall and landed on one of the sink side tables. Tigerclaw was over him instantly, raising the sai he had stolen with plans to impale the brilliant turtle. Mikey's chain latched out to stop him, pulling his hand back and away from his brother.

The tiger slid closer to the table, planting his feet in attempt to stop. Raph was over him again, coming down with his one sai. With one arm incapacitated, Tigerclaw fought with his sword, slicing back and forth at the turtle. Raph dodged the feeble attacks skilfully, before leaping up into the light fixtures with Leo. Leo leapt down with his katana above his head, Mikey bracing his foot against the table to keep Tigerclaw in place. But Tigerclaw was able to shift his arm back enough to have the attacking turtle slice him free. Leo realized his mistake too late, glaring at the tiger ferociously. Mikey was sent flying through the flaps when the chain was cut. Leo, who was still crouched on the floor from when he had landed, received a painful kick to the face from Tigerclaw, who immediately did the same to Don as he attempted another attack. Raph approached from behind and Tigerclaw flipped him across the room as well, just as Mikey re-entered. He saw his brother sliding on the ground and, without anytime to prep, he felt Tigerclaw grab his shell. The next thing Mikey knew, he was flying through the air and slamming into a wall. Leo made one more attempt, but Tigerclaw struck him down again. With his shell against the table leg, Tigerclaw held his sword in his face as if to prepare an interrogation. But before anything of that manner could begin, Karai dropped down out of nowhere, with Drawback not too far behind. Tigerclaw still believed they were on his side and was not alarmed at their sudden appearance.

"Karai," Tigerclaw growled. "Would you like the honor of finishing him?"

"I have no honour," Karai told him, lowering her head in shame. "But that's about to change." She spin kicked Tigerclaw before he discovered where her true loyalties lied. He staggered back, and Drawback bolted towards him, spinning open his switch blade and slicing it at the tiger's arm. Tigerclaw raised his arm defensively before registering what he was defending from, still thrown off from Karai's kick. The blade cut through his flesh, cutting deeper the longer it made contact. Tigerclaw roared in pain, raising his other arm to cradle his fresh wound. He kicked the boy in the abdomen, putting distance between them. Karai took the opportunity of Tigerclaw being distracted and leapt up, bouncing off the wall and thrusting her blade at him. With new found rage and hatred fuelling him, Tigerclaw was able to act quickly, grabbing the blade before it cut through his skull. He then used her momentum against her, flipping her onto a buzz saw table. Karai's head smacked down next to the saw, dangerously close to the swirling blade. Tigerclaw's paw came shooting down to grab her face, no doubt to slide her into death. But she was quick to roll away, and Tigerclaw's paw just smacked against the table. She spun around on her back, flipping her legs in the air and kicking the evil mutant as she did. He stumbled back, and her kicks persisted. He blocked with his forearms, before sending a powerful palm trust attack to her gut. She hit the wall hard, falling to the ground, momentarily blacked out. Tigerclaw took a step towards her, but was stopped by a shooting pain in his side. He roared again. He looked down and saw Drawback's switch blade. He glared at it, and then slowly shifted his glare to the young Purple Dragon who had thrown it. He wrapped his paw around the hilt and swiftly yanked it out, blood dripping from the wound. He egged the boy on with his menacing eyes, daring him to charge. And he did. Drawback pulled out another switch blade as he ran towards the mutant, swinging it at his chest when he got close. Tigerclaw casually moved to avoid it, and quickly retaliated. He swung the stolen blade upward, cutting the boy's arm, before grabbing his head and kneeing him forcefully in the face. Drawback went down, a bloody nose leaking fresh blood. Tigerclaw grabbed the boy by his pant waist, and dragged him to where Karai and fallen unconscious. He lifted her by her arm, using his free one. She was completely limp. The turtle brothers began to regroup around him, planning another ambush.

"If you value her life," Tigerclaw threatened, turning around to face them. "Do not take another step." He effortlessly flipped Drawback over his shoulder to free his hand and pull out a remote, pressing a button on it. The grinder Karai was being held over began to turn, threatening to crush her into oblivion if the Foot mutant dared to let go. The turtles made no movements. "Just as I thought." He threw her over his other shoulder and leapt up the wall, leaving out the window with the two teens.

"No!" Leo cried. His heart raced, unable to accept that he was losing Karai after only recently bringing her back into their family. "Come on, we have to-." He was interrupted by the paining groans of his younger brother, who was only partially conscious. Raph knelt down beside him, lifting him up in his arms.

"Wow, I think his shell was knocked loose," Don commented. "We have to get him back to Master Splinter." Leo stared at the window that Tigerclaw had escaped from, taking Karai with him.  
"Karai," Leo moaned, knowing that he couldn't go after her, that his younger brother was more important at this moment in time.

"I still don't trust her," Raph told him harshly, choosing the absolute worst time to reassert his feelings for the kunoichi.

"Are you kidding? She saved us," Leo aggressively retaliated, sweeping his arm outward in disbelief.

"The Shredder raised her," Raph said, speaking unusually calm, but still hinting at the anger he felt. "Daddy's probably welcoming her home right now." Leo just stared, letting his brother's words wash over him. And despite being surrounded by his three brothers, he had never felt so alone with his thoughts, so unsure about the decisions he knew he would have to make in the future.


	9. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel 'Drawback' Drake (c) http://vino-lerrej.deviantart.com/  
> Design of Drawback by me

Tigerclaw brought Karai and Drawback back to the Shredder. His back was turned to the returning warriors. Tigerclaw shoved Karai to her knees while keeping Drawback in his grip. Tigerclaw would do everything he could to show her off as dishonourable as he believed she was. "She has betrayed you, Master Shredder. She fought alongside the Turtles," Tigerclaw tattled. The Shredder tilted his head, but made no other movements; no other indication of his mood, thoughts or reactions to this news. Drawback remained silent, glaring from the tiger mutant to the Foot leader.

"Tell me the truth!" Karai shouted angrily. She faltered a moment, shifting her gaze away from him. She had never spoken to him with such ferocity before. She looked back up at him, frowning aggressively. "Splinter is my father, isn't he?" The Shredder stood still for a moment, staring out the large windows that made up his wall. It was a shock when he suddenly turned on his heel, pausing another moment. He slowly walked towards Karai, eerily quiet after being scolded by a child. Her heart nearly stopped from his uncharacteristic behaviour, the fear levels inside of her reaching high peaks. He finally reached her, but said nothing for a long moment, letting the silence build into tension.

"Yes," his words oozed. "Hamato Yoshi is your true father."

Karai's eyes bulged, the last bit of doubt vanishing from her very soul. "What?" she breathed. She stared at the floor, completely numb to everything around her; just the heavy weight of the truth crushing her reality. Shredder slowly walked past them, heading towards the exit of his throne room.

"Tigerclaw. Bring them," he ordered. The tiger pulled Karai up to her feet. She could barely stand. He dragged her and Drawback along as they made their way to the laboratories, where Dr. Stockman worked. He buzzed and twitched around the lab, carrying viles and chemicals to various areas. He noticed the group enter and flew down to greet his leader. Shredder held up a hand to Tigerclaw, motioning for him to hold back. The armoured ninja approached the fly mutant, ordering him to bring him something. Stockman flew off to retrieve it. Shredder returned to Tigerclaw and the two teens, who had both been bound. He took Karai by the shoulders with both hands, squeezing it tightly so she winced. Stockman returned with a vile of mutagen, and Shredder nodded at Tigerclaw. He nodded in response, knowing exactly what to do, and pushed Drawback towards Stockman. He shoved him into a clear, glass tube that had no top. Karai's heart began to pound, already knowing the answers to the questions she was about to ask.

"What are you doing!?" she demanded, sweat beginning to form on her brow.

"He distracted you, Karai. Encouraged your curiosity," Shredder responded in a low mono-tone. "Look at what his actions have caused us."

"He hasn't done anything! Stop this!" she begged. But Shredder wouldn't be deterred. He nodded again and Stockman flew above the tube's opening, mutagen in hand. Drawback looked up in horror as he saw the giant fly untwist the cap of the strange, glowing liquid and hover it above his head. He pressed himself against the walls, desperate to avoid what was going to be dropped on him, however futile it was. His breathing grew heavy, but the frown on his brow only intensified, not wanting to show his true emotions. Stockman tilted the vile. Drawback squeezed his eyes tight, pressing his cheek against the glass and tensing his muscles. The liquid poured out, washing over the young Purple Dragon. It burned to the touch and he began screaming immediately. Karai flinched away, not wanting to watch as his body arced in pain. He clutched his head and retreated into the fetal position, all the while still screaming. The vile fluid washed over his body and got into his mouth, causing him to gag and spit it out. It burned his throat and he was no longer able to scream, or even breathe without the pain shooting throughout his chest. Then he felt his bones popping; a similar feeling to cracking knuckles, but a lot more painful. He could feel this sensation throughout his entire body, felt his bones shifting beneath his skin. And then it stopped. Even the burning lowered to a tingle over the surface of his skin. He took a deep breathe, euphoric at the feeling of oxygen re-entering his lungs. He stayed in the fetal position as water began to rise from the bottom of the tube. It swirled a bit, making sure to remove the majority of mutagen, and then drained out the bottom again.

The tingling stopped, but Drawback did not feel the same. He had been oblivious to his captors watching him as he struggled to deal with the pain, and only now noticed the horrifying look on Karai's face as she stared at him, tears trickling from her eyes. Drawback lifted his hand and pressed it against the glass. And that's when he saw what Karai saw; insect-like armour covered his arm. His breathing picked up again. He stared out the glass, at Karai. She lowered her head, and her shoulders sank. He focused on the translucent reflection in the glass to get a better sense at what they had turned him into. It wasn't a clear image, but he could tell he wasn't human anymore; not even close. He saw sandy and brown coloured skin on a hulking, hunch-backed creature. Large pincher-fangs protruded from his mouth, making it impossible to press his lips together completely. His eyes looked to be the same colour, but larger, and fuller. His nose and ears were gone from what he could see, and his left ear ring was now fused into the side of his head. He still had hair, but it looked like it had been shaved into a low Mohawk. He looked down at himself, finding it hard to pivot his head without moving his shoulders with it. From what he could tell, he now had four arms and four legs. Two of his arms were large with scorpion-like claws instead of hands, and the other two were smaller, closer to the size his arms had been before, with three digits on each hand.

He scowled at the Shredder, clenching his jaw and fists. He banged against the glass, cries of agony sounding more like the roars of a monster. The Shredder approached Drawback once Tigerclaw took his place in guarding Karai. His steps were slow and ominous, and Drawback glared at him intensely the entire time. The ninja master stopped in front of the glass tube, casting an indifferent stare at the now mutated boy. He leaned down, and spoke in his gravelly tone, "this is your punishment for turning my daughter against me. You will never again be allowed her company." Drawback thrashed around in his confinement, hissing and roaring furiously. Claws sprang from his fingertips and he began using them to cut at the glass. The Shredder turned back to Tigerclaw, ignoring Drawback's fit. "TigerClaw, take her away," Shredder ordered. Tigerclaw obeyed, grabbing the back of her neck and leaving the room. Drawback paused only a few seconds to see his closest friend being taken away, knowing it may be the last he saw of her. He continued his thrashing, now more futile than before. "Stockman. Put him with the others," Shredder ordered. Stockman buzzed about, grabbing a remote and typing in a few commands. A robotic claw came down, grabbing the tube with Drawback inside. It was placed on a small circle on the floor, with markings that suggested a launch pad. There were a few clicks and hums of mechanics as the tube was secured to the floor. Stockman pressed another button, and the bottom of the tube fell away, sending Drawback tumbling into another prison; a prison full of more monsters like him.

...

Tigerclaw dragged Karai to the lower levels of the headquarters and threw her into one of the cells. He slammed the door closed and turned his back on her.

"No," Karai shrieked. "No! No! What are you doing?" She held the bars, desperately begging to the only family she knew, feeling a horrible, unfamiliar ache at being betrayed and used by people she had trusted with her life. She stretched her hand through the holes in the cell door, "Nooo!"


End file.
